Machine pleating

Introduction

Selected pleat types

Selected pleat types

Machine pleating is a process in which the material enters a special machine, the machine folds the material (along with protective papers) in the desired way using special knives, applies temperature and pressure, and cools the material after a while. As a result, the folding pattern created by the knives is fixed on the material and remains unchanged after the material is removed from the papers. Each fold is commonly referred to as a pleat, hence the name of the process. There are several basic types of machine pleating: straight pleats, fancy pleats (Harlequin, herringbone pattern), accordion pleats.

Straight pleats

One of the most popular types of machine pleating. It is most often found in the form of a repeating pleat of a fixed length, but there is also the possibility of introducing greater finesse into the pleats created. Depending on the set pattern, the pleats can change their length during the operation of the machine according to the program, insert spaces or box pleats, while maintaining an ideal repeatability of the pleats even in the case of very large batches of material. Another interesting solution is the possibility to make "shot" inserts, e.g. in the middle of the blouse, also according to the selected pattern. In this way it is possible to insert a selected number of pleats on a selected section of material.

Straight pleats with fade effect

rodzaje fald

Straight (flat) pleats with fade effect

A variant of straight pleating, where pleats are created only on a fragment of the material, leaving about 30 cm from the edge unpleated. Thanks to this, the material has a slightly larger volume at this edge and drapes more nicely. This type of pleating is used, for example, in sleeves or short skirts.

Printing on pleated material

Printing on pleated material

Printing on pleated material

Sublimation printing on pleated materials. The elements obtained in this way are colored only on the surface of the visible fold, while the rest of the material remains unpainted. In combination with interesting patterns from our database, this allows for achieving amazing spatial effects.

Fancy pleats - Harlequin

Fancy pleats - Harlequin

Fancy pleats - Harlequin

This type of pleating is created by the work of a machine with a segmented knife. The division of the pleating knife into parts allows the machine to perform a different movement on selected parts of the material, thanks to which the machine can, for example, alternately create a pleat and a box pleat. Additionally, in harlequin pleating, a lateral movement of the knife is introduced, which causes a change in the position of the pleats and box pleats across the width of the material during machine operation. It is possible to set production parameters such as the size of the lateral movement, lateral movement settings and pleat height. The use of this technique is mainly for pleating material for small inserts, e.g. for hats, where we want to obtain a fairly geometrically complex pattern on a very small surface. It is possible to pleat material up to 150 cm wide, also slightly thicker knits. Similar patterns: herringbone, crushing, small straight pleats.

Fancy pleats - herringbone

Fancy pleats - herringbone

Fancy pleats - herringbone

This type of pleating is created by a machine with a special wavy knife. When the material passes through the machine, a pattern is created consisting of alternating lines, creating a characteristic "herringbone". It is possible to adjust the size of the pleat (how densely the lines are repeated). This technique is mainly used to pleat material for small inserts, e.g. for hats, where we want to obtain a fairly geometrically complex pattern on a very small surface. It is possible to pleat material up to 150 cm wide, also slightly thicker knits. Similar patterns: harlequin, crushing, small straight pleats.

Accordion pleats

Accordion pleats with fade effect

Accordion pleats with fade effect
Accordion pleats with two heights

Accordion pleats with two heights

Accordion pleating is a special type of machine pleating in which the material is arranged in a shape resembling an accordion, where the folds are made at equal intervals and the resulting pleats are not flat. We have designed and implemented special solutions that allow us to use this type of pleating only on a fragment of the material, part of the material, leaving the rest unpleated or, for example, with a previously straight pleat. In contrast to the 'straight pleat' pleat, this type of pleating, we have the possibility to add unpleated inserts up to up to 50 cm wide in the middle of the material (the sides of the material are (the sides of the material are pleated, the middle is not) or to create a combination of combination of pleated and unpleated fragments. It is possible to to pleat materials up to 150 cm wide, it is possible to set the height of the pleat in the range of 3-6 mm. Thanks to the use of special of special modules in the machine in this pattern, we also offer the possibility to two sizes of pleats side by side on one material - a double pleat (smaller) and double pleat (smaller) and single pleat (larger). The working of the modules for double pleats is about 25 cm.

Accordion pleats – large pleats

Accordion pleats – large pleats

Accordion pleats – large pleats

Using other machines, we are also able to make an accordion pleat (also called standing pleats) in a larger version. The large accordion pleat is visually very similar to the pleat found in sunray pleating, but here the pleat height is constant across the entire width of the material. In sunray pleating, the pleat is small at the undercut and increases towards the lower border of the cut.

Fancy pleats - ruffle

Fancy pleats - ruffle

Fancy pleats - ruffle

Another example of modular pleating, in which there is great freedom in shaping the created pattern. In ruffle pleating, the pattern is created by tiny sharp wheels (arranged at 1 cm intervals), which press the material in selected places. By turning on or off selected wheels, we can selectively pleat the material - e.g. 5 cm from the edge pleated, then 10 cm unpleated, the next 15 cm pleated and 10 cm unpleated. In ruffle pleating, the created pleating pattern is characterized by very high elasticity. It is possible to pleat materials up to 150 cm wide.

"Straight to flared" pleating

Straight to flared pleating

"Straight to flared" pleating

This type of pleating is available in both machine pleating (limited possibility of customization) and hand pleating (large possibility of customization). In "straight to flared" pleating we start with a rectangular pattern, but after pleating the pattern becomes slightly flared. This is due to the specific arrangement of knives in the pleating process, which "hide" the missing material by creating a non-parallel fold. The maximum width of the material in this type of pleating is 80 cm. The advantage of this type of pleating is obtaining a slight flaring of the skirt. As a result, the skirt emphasizes the female figure more, the pleats slightly wave and give the impression of greater softness of the material.

Custom pleating

In addition to the above-mentioned service options, we also carry out custom orders. If you want to make a different type of pleating, try to make it on a different material (including atypical ones), combine different services or try to recreate pleating based on a photo or model – please contact us.

Knowledge Base: Pleating

The pleating process consists of two stages — the first is arranging the material into the chosen pattern, and the second is setting this arrangement using high temperature and pressure. Any material — synthetic fibers, artificial (e.g. viscose), or natural (e.g. cotton) - can be arranged, but setting the pleats is only possible with synthetic fibers and wool.
  • In synthetic materials, the high temperature melts the fibers slightly; as they cool, the material "remembers" the folds.
  • With wool, steam can be used in addition to temperature, allowing wool to retain the pattern.
  • Other materials are resistant to heat and steam, so to maintain pleats in e.g. cotton shirts, additional securing is necessary — usually by sewing each pleat. Otherwise, pleated items will eventually return to their flat, original form.

Pleating (creating folds) is possible, but will not be permanent. Natural fibers resist heat, so with environmental temperature, humidity, and pressure during wearing, pleats "iron out" back to flat. To maintain pleats, extra securing such as stitching of each fold is needed. Some chemical treatments can also make fabrics — like silk — respond to heat and fix the pattern, but such treatments alter the fabric's properties. This essentially turns silk into something more like polyester (due to added chemical treatment) and in such case it is easier to just use polyester directly.

Several tests can be performed:
  1. If you suspect polyester or other synthetics—create a fold on a small piece and iron it (temperature: between level 2 and 3 on an iron). If you get a sharp crease that survives delicate washing, pleating is probably possible.
  2. For wool—make a fold and use a steam iron. If the crease is sharp, durable pleating is likely.
  3. Alternatively, burn a small, secured piece (e.g., 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm) and observe:
  4. Wool: Smells like burning hair, burns slowly, goes out when removed from flame, edge becomes crumbly.
  5. Silk: Burns similarly to wool, leaves small, brittle balls that turn to ash.
  6. Cotton: Burns even after removing the flame, smells like burning paper; the burnt part doesn’t crumble as easily.
  7. Polyester: Burns and melts slowly; smells chemical; edge is black and hard, not crumbly.
  8. Nylon: Burns like polyester, but the edge is lighter grey.All material tests — especially those involving open flames or chemicals—should be carried out only by trained professionals in a controlled, safe environment. Working with fire and chemical substances poses risks to your health and safety. Please do not attempt these procedures without proper training, equipment, and safety measures.

Sew each pleat; you can also reinforce pleated fabric with special glue interlining. There are patterns in our offer where interlining is also advised, due to the direction of the pleats - the interlining keeps patterns stable and prevents stretching of the material.

Polyester pleated fabrics may be machine-washed using a delicate program. They should be dried hung up (not in a tumble dryer). Ironing may flatten the pleats or introduce new creases, so it should be used with great caution or ideally avoided entirely in pleated areas.

Fabrics have two threads: the weft runs across the width, and the warp runs parallel to the side edges. The fabric always "remembers" the arrangement of weft versus warp. If the warp and weft are not correctly aligned (e.g., the fabric is stretched askew), one edge of the skirt may drift sideways, as the weft strives to straighten itself.

The simplest way is to tear a piece of fabric from one selvage to the other. The tear line should be at a right angle to the selvage. If there is no right angle, the fabric is skewed.
I have a photo/model/stencil but can't identify the pleating type.
You may send your materials (photos/stencil scans) to our email or send the models/stencils to our company address.. After analyzing the materials provided, we shall inform you about the type of pleating, suitable elements for the process, and provide a price quotation.

Prices depend on the chosen pattern, parameters, and the material in which the service is to be performed. Simple machine-made pleating costs about 15 EUR (64 PLN) per running meter, whereas hand pleating — for example, a simple sunray half-circle skirt — starts at approximately three times this amount. For a precise quotation for your project or model, please contact us.

In machine pleating, fabric is placed between two layers of special paper and fed into the machine through special knives. The knives pre-arrange the paper and fabric, which are then fed into the fixation section, where heated rollers fix the pattern under pressure. The fixation time (temperature and pressure) is adjustable and depends on the pattern and material. After heating, the paper and material move to the cooling stage, where the pattern is set.

Pleating from the roll is possible for selected patterns. Any imperfections in the fabric — if present — will have a greater impact on the appearance of pleating, than when pleating individual elements. For instance, if the material on the roll is stretched on one side, errors may appear in that area. If the threads are skewed, the pleats will still be made perpendicular to the selvage. But since the weft line is not perpendicular to the selvedge (due to material being stretched) the pleats will not be parallel to the weft line, causing the bottom of a skirt to drift and hem edges to curve.

Occasionally, we encounter fabrics with different fiber compositions in warp and weft. Some are suitable for pleating only parallel to the selvage. Attempting to pleat such materials perpendicularly to the selvage (from the roll) does not result in permanent pleating.

For most patterns, the maximum width is 150 cm. We also have machines for narrower materials. For selected patterns it is also possible to pleat wider material (standing pleats up to 240 cm wide).

This is possible only for selected patterns and materials, and exclusively for items without buttons, zippers, or similar accessories.

During pleating, the fabric is folded so that what was one layer now becomes three (a pleat). If, for example, a blouse has double or triple layers, pleating in those areas will result in six or even nine layers. Such significant differences in thickness can cause defects in the pattern at these junctions.

Yes, our offer includes pleating patterns with unpleated sections—for example, flat pleats, small accordion pleats, or "ruffle" pleating. Combining different types of folds is also possible for certain designs, but the entire material must be pleated by one method and then by the second chosen method; it is not possible to pleat half the item with one method and the other half with another.
Go to full knowledge base